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Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Just in case you missed it, here is the performance of the John Williams work "Air and Simple Gifts" by Anthony McGill, Yo-Yo Ma, Itzhak Perlman, and Gabriela Montero at the inauguration of Barack Obama.

EDIT: It has come to our attention that this was not a live performance, but was actually pre-recorded. Read the New York Times article about it here.

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Invited to take part in Barack Obama's presidential inauguration on Jan. 20th, clarinetist Anthony McGill will join musicians Yo-Yo Ma (cello), Itzhak Perlman (violin), and Gabriela Montero (piano) to premiere an undisclosed work by American composer John Williams. In this quartet of talented musicians diverse ethic backgrounds are well represented: McGill is a young African-American, Yo-Yo Ma is Chinese-American, Perlman is an Israeli-American, and Montera is Latin American from Venuzela Venezuela. McGill is currently the principal clarinetist of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and was recently appointed to the faculty at the Peabody Conservatory this past fall. Also known as a gifted chamber musician, McGill has performed at countless festivals, including Music@Menlo which is featured on a previous post by Clarinet Cache. For a chance to hear McGill's exquisite playing, visit his website at anthonymcgill.com for up-to-date information on news and performances. Don't forget to join millions of Americans in witnessing a spectacular musical celebration during Obama's inauguration on Tuesday, Jan. 20th at 11:30am E.S.T.

Saturday, January 3, 2009

The Soni Ventorum Woodind Quintet Archives are a valuable resource for the woodwind quintet clarinetist, containing streaming mp3 files of live performances of nearly 50 works for woodwind quintet. The recordings represent much of the (now) standard quintet repertoire, such as the Reicha, Taffanel, and Francaix Quintets, as well as lesser-known works like Ruth Crawford Seeger's Suite and William O. Smith's Jazz Set for Violin and Wind Quintet. The video archive is much smaller, but includes this performance of the "Andante" movement from Ibert's Trois pièces brèves.

Soni Ventorum was active as a quintet from 1961-2001, and was formed by graduates of the Curtis Institute of Music: Felix Skowronek, flute; Laila Storch, oboe; William McColl, clarinet; Arthur Grossman, bassoon, and David Kappy, horn. Learn more about Soni Ventorum on the History and Artists pages, and explore original newspaper clippings on the Press page.

This site is a great example of how the internet can be used to preserve and document the great ensembles of the past through audio and video. Hopefully we will see more sites like it in the future!